The present invention relates to a removable pill crusher assembly for a transportable housing used to crush pellets and like objects into grinds, and more particularly to such a removable pill crusher assembly used interchangeably between transportable housings and prevents contamination of grinds from one removable pill crusher assembly to another removable pill crusher assembly.
Pills are a common means of administering medication or vitamins orally and are a convenient means of assigning and taking required dosages for a particular ailment or disease. Solid pills are sometimes the only means of obtaining a required medication because pharmaceutical companies may only produce certain drugs that are available in a tablet form or alternative states such as a solution are expensive or impractical to take. Crushing or grinding pills has become a necessity for children and adults who are incapable or have difficulty swallowing pills whole. Animals that need medication routinely require capsules or tablets to be crushed or grinded to have the contents of the tablets administered orally. Placing the grinds or powder of crushed pills into food or a liquid allows a person or animal to more easily take medication or vitamins orally. For certain persons, ingesting a crushed pill is the only means of taking a medication because they are unable to physically swallow a pill whole.
Traditional means of crushing or grinding pills into a powder-like form required the use of a mortar and pestle. Frequently, nurses often resort to a hammer to smash the pills in a bowl type container that would result in the remnants frequently flying out of the bowl type container. The reduction of necessary dosages would become a problem because of lost powder or grinds. Both these techniques required a significant amount of force exerted from the user to achieve the desired pill crushing effect. The hammer method in particular creates loud noises that often irritate the user or nearby persons and animals. Furthermore, the crushing tool and the crushing container need to be washed thoroughly after use to prevent contamination of medications. Additionally, this equipment would need to be dried thoroughly to prevent the powder or grinds from becoming sticky. The activity required to prevent cross contamination of pill residue is very laborious and demands extra hours for caregivers that could better be served attending their patients or animals.
Alternative electrical powered designs do exist that eliminate manual crushing means, but each have their own short comings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,666 discloses a ramming means of crushing pills into powder using a motor. The drawback to this action is that it depends on a tight fit between a ram and a guide shaft. If the desired crushing effect does not occur on the first pass, the user will not have a second opportunity to crush the pill further. The operation also depends on batteries to power the motor; however, the batteries will eventually die and the user will be forced to change the batteries. U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,386 discloses an impact hammer powered by energy stored in a spring; however, the means of collecting the resulting powder is provided by an envelope. The user must then pour the collected powder into a cup by folding the envelope and tilting on end downward. This activity requires the operator of the device to be extremely cautious when transporting the powder. U.S. Pat. App. No. 2005/0127218 discloses a pill crusher utilizing a series of rollers in conjunction with a pressure plate. This design depends on interlocking gears that propel a pill and its remnants in a downward direction. The system does not have a fail safe mechanism to deal with stubborn pills that might jam the operation, causing the gears to stall and damaging the motor.
Therefore, it is desired to have a pill crusher assembly that is electrically operated for ease of usage. Furthermore, it is desired that this electrical operation is mobile such that a housing containing the electrical motor is transportable from room to room without a great deal of inconvenience. A rechargeable mechanism to power up the power supply is also desired to reduce waste associated with used batteries. Additionally, the pill crusher assembly is desired to be exchangeable such that multiple pill crusher assemblies may be used with the same housing unit to eliminate concerns associated with cross contamination. The crushing device is preferred to be provided with a fail safe mechanism to prevent locking or disruption associated with the grinding action such that damage does not occur to the motor or grinding devices. Moreover, it is desirable to have a pill crusher assembly that is capable of depositing the crushed residue of the pill into a cup safely and securely to avoid mishaps related to transporting the powder-like material into an ingestible food or liquid.
Thus, there is a need for a pill crusher assembly capable of grinding pills or pellets into a powder-like form or small particles that has a simple mechanical operation to reduce cost and maintenance. The pill crusher assembly needs to be small enough to fit into a transportable housing that carries a motor. Furthermore, there is a need for such a pill crusher assembly that is exchangeable such that a pill crusher assembly may be specifically elected for a particular medication or patient to prevent cross-contamination. There is also a need to have a pill crusher assembly that provides a safe and secure means of depositing the crushed residue of a pill or pellet into a cup for dispensing the powder-like material.